Air-cushion backpack and laptop sleeve

ABSTRACT

A backpack has a front pocket containing a plate and a pair of shoulder straps for holding the plate against the back of a user. A pressurizable, flexible and elastic bladder covers the plate and has inside surfaces with an embossed pattern for preventing sticking together of facing walls of the bladder to facilitating an initial inflation of the bladder. A pair of tubular extensions extend from the bladder and into the shoulder straps, one of the tubular extensions being for inflating and deflating the bladder. A mouth-inflatable check valve connected to extension is location so as to be accessible to the user for inflating the bladder and a valve cover is detachably connected over the entire mouth engageable perimeter of the check valve for keeping it clear. Semi-rigid liners in the shoulder straps near the bladder form channels for facilitating inflating and deflating of the bladder. A pair of cushion panels in, or separate from the backpack, include pluralities of offset parallel, partially filled air tubes spaced by webs for minimizing volume when there is nothing between the cushion panels.

FIELD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION THE INVENTION

The present invention relates in general to article carriers, and inparticular to an new and useful backpack and laptop sleeve having aircushion features for increased comfort and for protection of a laptopcomputer carried by the backpack or sleeve.

U.S. Patent Application US2007/0215662, published Sep. 20, 2007, on U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/377,008, filed Mar. 16, 2006, that sharesat least one inventor with the current application and which isincorporated here by reference, teaches a backpack with a generallyrigid plate having a front face, a back face and shoulder straps forholding it against a back of a user. An inflatable, non-elastic andsmooth surfaced bladder covers generally all of the front face of theplate and has a closable fill opening so that the bladder can beinflated for added comfort and load distribution.

Although the backpack of the above-identified application has beenextremely successful because of its variety of advantages, there arecertain areas of improvement which the present application addresses.One of these areas involves the use of vinyl as the material for thebladder which while being flexible was less elastic then was found to beultimately advantageous and also importantly because it was made to havesmooth inner and outer surfaces. After manufacture and in the deflatedcondition, the inside facing walls tended to stick to each other becauseof these smooth surfaces. This made it very difficult to inflate thebladder the first time since in addition to over coming the internalpressure to inflate the bladder to a comfortable level, the stucktogether walls had to be separated by the blown in air pressure alone.This proved to be very difficult.

Another perceived difficulty with the prior backpack was that since onlyone tube extended along the shoulder strap for inflation according tothe preferred embodiment of the invention, when the backpack and its onetube were inflated it was perceived to be asymmetric because the otherstrap was not inflated, or even perhaps defective because of thisasymmetry. The present invention overcomes this difficulty as well.

Another area of improvement addressed by the present application is thepresence of a check valve cover that covers the mouth inflatable checkvalve of the prior backpack and thus improves sanitation and cleanlinessof the mouth inflated check valve and its surrounding areas.

The use of flexible but non-elastic material for the bladder was alsofound to be less desirable so that bladder material that is bothflexible and elastic is now used in the approved backpack.

Another problem with the prior art is the protection of laptop computerswhich are small and easily portable but likewise, easily dropped anddamaged. Although padded sleeves are known, the need remains for animproved padding arrangement for a laptop sleeve alone, or within abackpack.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide backpack having afirst front wall, a second front wall spaced forwardly of the firstfront wall and defining a front pocket with the first front wall, agenerally rigid plate having a front face and a back face, the platebeing in the front pocket with the back face of the plate being adjacentthe first front wall, a pair of shoulder straps operatively connected toat least one of the front walls for holding the plate against a back ofa user with the second front wall being between the plate and the backof the user, load bearing means connected to at least one of the frontwalls for holding an object, and a pressurizable, flexible and elasticbladder covering generally all of the front face of the plate. Thebladder is provided in the front pocket between the front face of theplate and the second front wall and at least the entire inside surfacesof the bladder have a non-smooth texture thereon for preventing stickingtogether of facing walls of the bladder to facilitating an initialinflation of the bladder. A pair of tubular extensions or tubes extendfrom the bladder and respectively into each of the shoulder straps, oneof the tubular extensions being for inflating and deflating the bladder.A mouth-inflatable, normally closed check valve is connected to the onetubular extension at a location that is spaced from the bladder andpositioned so as to be accessible to a user for inflating the bladder byblowing into the check valve while the shoulder strap is on a shoulderof the user, the check valve having a mouth engageable perimeter. Avalve cover is detachably connected over the entire mouth engageableperimeter of the check valve for covering the check valve and keeping itclear. A pair of semi-rigid liners are respectively in the shoulderstraps near the bladder to form a pair or semi-rigid channels for thetubular extensions near the bladder to facilitate inflating anddeflating of the bladder through the one tubular extension.

A further object of the present invention is to provide, either as partof the backpack, or as a stand-alone item, a laptop sleeve including apair of cushion panels connected in a rear pocket of the backpack or asa stand-alone sleeve, each cushion panel comprising a plurality ofspaced apart, parallel, permanently sealed and partially filled airtubes made of flexible elastic material with webs between the air tubesin each cushion panel, the air tubes of one cushion panel each facingthe webs of the other cushion panel for minimizing a volume occupied bythe cushion panels when there is nothing in a space between the cushionpanels, and for cushioning a laptop computer placed between the cushionpanels.

Another object of the invention includes providing the check valve tohave a flapper that is normally closed to prevent air from escaping fromthe bladder and including a push button on the flapper that is manuallydepressed to move the flapper and allow air to escape from the bladderto adjust the amount of air in the bladder for improved comfort.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention arepointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention,its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses,reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter inwhich preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a backpack according to the invention with aninside bladder cushion deflated;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 with acushioned sleeve or pocket for a laptop computer;

FIG. 2A is a view like FIG. 2 but of another embodiment of the inventionwith an empty laptop sleeve;

FIG. 2B is a view like FIG. 2 of the other embodiment of the inventionwith a laptop in the sleeve;

FIG. 3 is a view like FIG. 1 of the backpack with the cushion inflatedand the backpack partly cut away to show the laptop sleeve embodiment ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the backpack of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partial front view illustrating the pack of FIG. 1 on aperson;

FIG. 6 is a view like FIG. 5 illustrating use of the backpack;

FIG. 7 is a front view of another bladder according to the invention;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are front views of a pack employing the bladder of FIG. 7in two different positions;

FIG. 10 is a rear view of the bladder of the pack of FIGS. 1 to 6;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are sections taken along respective lines 11-11 and12-12 of FIG. 10;

FIGS. 13 and 14 are side sectional views of the bladder of FIG. 10, inrespective deflated and inflated conditions;

FIG. 15 is a large-scale view of the fitting used at the locationindicated at 15 in FIG. 10;

FIG. 16 is a front view of another bladder according to the invention;

FIGS. 17 and 18 are sections taken along respective lines 17-17 and18-18 of FIG. 16;

FIG. 19 is a side sectional view of the bladder of FIG. 16;

FIG. 20 is an exploded perspective view of a stand-alone cushionedlaptop computer sleeve of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a plan view of a pre-assembled sleeve of FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a perceptive view of another embodiment of a laptop sleeve ofthe invention; and

FIG. 23 is an exploded perspective view of the assembly steps of anotherembodiment of the laptop sleeve.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference numerals are usedto refer to the same or functionally similar elements, FIG. 1 shows animproved backpack 10 of the present invention which overcomes some ofthe short comings of the prior backpack of the above-identifiedpublished patent application by, among other things, providing a textureor embossed pattern on at least the inner surfaces of the bladder toavoid sticking, the use of inflatable shoulder strap tubes in bothshoulder straps 30, along with a mechanism to permit free air flow inthose tubes so that the backpack is perceived as being symmetrical andin no way defective, the inclusion of permanently inflated, elasticmaterial tubes shown at 40, 42 and 44 in FIG. 2, in a main pocket orchamber in the backpack that may be closed by a zipper 18, or as a standalone laptop sleeve of FIGS. 20 to 23 to protect a laptop computer, theinclusion of a cover 35 in FIGS. 5 and 6, over the air inflated checkvalve 34, and other advantageous improvements which distinguishes theimproved backpack over the prior art in general, and over theabove-identified published patent application specifically.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 10, the improved backpack 10 of theinvention comprises a first front wall 20 of heavy duty fabric such aheavy nylon fabric, a second front wall 22 of the same or heavier fabricspaced forwardly of the first front wall 20 and defining a front pocket24 with the first front wall 20, and a generally rigid, preferablyplastic plate 26 having a front face and a back face, the plate being inthe front pocket 24 with the back face of the plate being adjacent thefirst front wall 20. A pair of the shoulder straps 30 are operativelyconnected to the body of the backpack, namely to at least one of thefront walls 20 and/or 22 as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, for holding the plateagainst a back of a user with the second front wall 22 being between theplate 26 and the back of the user.

Load bearing means, such as a main and additional backpack pocketsformed by a rear wall 12 and an interior partition wall 14 also of thesame fabric as one or the other front walls, and connected to at leastone of the front walls, are provided for holding an object or load. Arear pocket between walls 12 and 14 is closed by a further zipper 16. Asshown in FIG. 3, the plate pocket 24 formed of walls 20 and 22 also hasa top zipper 19 for access to the plate pocket. This allows access tothe plate pocket for airport security measures that do not permit closedstorage volumes that may contain contraband.

As best shown in FIGS. 2, 2A, 2B and 10 to 14, a pressurizable, flexibleand elastic bladder 28 covers generally all of the front face of theplate 26, the bladder being in the front pocket 24 between the frontface of the plate and the second front wall 22. At least the entireinside surface 27 of the bladder has a non-smooth texture or embossedpattern 29 thereon for preventing sticking together of facing walls ofthe bladder 28 to facilitating an initial inflation of the bladder. Theoutside surfaces of the bladder 28 may have the same or a differentpattern or not pattern and all patterns are made by providing thesurfaces of the mold for forming the bladder with a negative image ofthe pattern. For example, as shown in FIG. 10 the pattern may be anembossed pattern of concentric circles or any other pattern that has theeffect of keeping broad smooth surfaces of the flexible plastic materialfrom contacting each other and therefore unavoidably sticking together.

For both flexible and elastic properties it has been found advantageousto form the bladder of plastic like PU (polyurethane) or PVC (polyvinylchloride) that stretch when impacted thus absorbing energy and nottransferring the energy. Flexible but non-elastic vinyl may also beused, however. As will be explained later, cushion panels forming alaptop sleeve that are each made of a plurality of spaced apart,parallel, permanently sealed and partially filled air tubes, are alsomade of flexible elastic material such as PU or PVC so that they too canstretch when impacted and absorb and transfer energy to protect thelaptop computer in the sleeve.

To make sure that backpack appears perfectly symmetrical, a pair oftubular extensions or tubes 32, 33 shown in FIG. 10, extend from thebladder 28 and respectively extend into each of the shoulder straps 30.One of the tubular extensions 32 is for inflating and deflating thebladder as will be explained later, although if desired both can be usedfor this purpose if both are provided with an inflation valve. In anycase, a mouth-inflatable, normally closed check valve 34 is connected atleast to the one tubular extension 32 at a location that is spaced fromthe bladder 28 and positioned so as to be accessible, as shown in FIG.6, to a user for inflating the bladder 28 by blowing into the checkvalve 34 while the shoulder strap 30 is on a shoulder of the user, thecheck valve having a mouth engageable perimeter.

A valve cover 35 having a rim around its perimeter is detachablyconnected over the entire mouth engageable perimeter of the check valve34 for covering the check valve 34 and keeping it clear. To keep thecover from being lost it is permanently held to the valve perimeter by atab 35 a. The check valve 34 has an inwardly pushable flapper that isnormally closed around and against the inner surface of the valveperimeter and held in place be internal air pressure in the bladder 28and tube 32 to prevent air from escaping from the bladder. The flapperincludes a central raised push button 39 on the flapper that can bemanually depressed by the user to move the flapper inwardly away fromthe valve perimeter and allow some or all of the air to escape from thebladder to adjust the firmness and comfort of the bladder against theuser's back.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 15, a pair of semi-rigid liners 36 and 37, ofsemirigid plastic for example, and respectively in the shoulder straps30, 30, each near the bladder, form a pair or semi-rigid channels forthe tubular extensions 32, 33 near the bladder to facilitate inflatingand deflating of the bladder through the one tubular extension 32. Twoliners are provide again for symmetry, or in case both tubes 32 and 33are to be provided with a mouth-inflatable valve 34. The liner of bothinflation tube 32 and extra tube 33, keep the tubes from collapsingunder the load on the shoulder straps, that would otherwise make itimpossible to use the tube 32 for inflating or deflating the bladder 28.The other tube 33 is also automatically inflated by air from the bladder28 that is allowed to move through the open channel made by at liner 37so both tubes and both shoulder straps are inflated to the same extentand are therefore symmetrical.

As noted above, the material of the bladder can be of flexible butnon-elastic vinyl or other plastic, but is preferably an elastic plasticlike PU (polyurethane) or PVC (polyvinyl chloride) that stretch whenimpacted thus absorbing energy and not transferring the energy.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 8 and 9, at least one front wall, butpreferable the second front wall 22 against the user's back is made ofmesh of better ventilation. The second front wall 22 can also oralternatively be of a stretchable textile forming the front pocket forholding the bladder 28.

As shown in FIGS. 10 to 14 the bladder can be subdivided into aplurality of interconnected compartments, including a relatively largelower lumbar support compartment 28 a, and a plurality of relativelysmall upper compartments 28 b, 28 c and 28 d. The backpack bladder canbe formed with a forwardly open central recess as is evident in FIGS. 2,2A and 2B for avoiding direct pressure against the users spine.

The front pocket 24 can alternatively be downwardly open and thebackpack further can comprise a releasable fastener like a hook and looptape at a lower edge of the front panel as shown in FIG. 8 for access tothe plate.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 2A, 2B and 3, the backpack may include a laptopcomputer sleeve in the rear pocket against wall 20, or a stand-alonelaptop sleeve that will be disclosed later in connection with FIGS. 20to 23. In FIGS. 2, 2A, 2B and 3, the sleeve comprises a pair of cushionpanels connected in the rear pocket and behind the first front wall 20,each cushion panel comprising a plurality of spaced apart, parallel,permanently sealed and partially filled air tubes 40 made of flexibleelastic material with webs 48 between the air tubes 40 in each cushionpanel. The air tubes 40 of one cushion panel each face the webs 48 ofthe other cushion panel for minimizing a volume occupied by the cushionpanels when there is nothing in a space between the cushion panels asshown in FIG. 2A, and for cushioning a laptop computer 50 placed betweenthe cushion panels as shown in FIG. 2B.

As noted above, the cushion panels are made of an elastic plastic likePU or PVC that stretch when impacted thus absorbing energy and nottransferring the energy to the laptop.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sleeve may also have a top permanently sealedand partially filled air tube 46 made of flexible elastic material, withtop web 48 connected between one of the cushion panels, in this case thetop of the front panel, and the top air tube 46 for covering andcushioning the space between the cushion panels, and a pair of side 42and a bottom 44 permanently sealed and partially filled air tubes madeof the same flexible elastic material connected respectively at thesides and the bottom of the space between the cushion panels for furthercushioning the space as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Referring now to FIGS. 20 to 23, a stand-alone laptop computer sleeve ofthe invention comprises a fabric outer covering 52 with a front panelwith top zippered pocket 54 and a rear panel with top zippered pocket56. The front and rear cover panels are connected to each other by agusset 60 extending across the bottom and sides of the pocket panels. Atop gusset 62 with a longitudinal main zipper 58 closes the perimeter ofthe cover and provides an access opening for inserting and removing alaptop computer.

Here too a pair of cushion panels each comprise a plurality of spacedapart, parallel, permanently sealed and partially filled air tubes 40made of flexible elastic material with webs 48 between the air tubes 40in each cushion panel. The front and rear cushion panels are insertedthrough the top zippers into the respective front and rear cover panels54 and 55 in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 20. The air tubes 40 ofone cushion panel each face the webs 48 of the other cushion panel forminimizing a volume occupied by the cushion panels when there is nothingin a space between the cushion panels. With a laptop in the space,cushioning of the laptop computer occurs between the cushion panels.

FIG. 21 shows the cover in a disassemble state before zippered coverpanels 54 and 56 have been sewn or otherwise connected at the perimeterto the gussets 60 and 62.

As shown in FIG. 22, the sleeve also preferably includes a toppermanently sealed and partially filled air tube 46 made of flexibleelastic material with a top web 48 connected between one of the cushionpanels or the cover panel on that side, and the top air tube 46, forcovering and cushioning the space between the cushion panels and anylaptop therein. As shown in FIG. 23, a pair of side 42 and a bottom 44permanently sealed and partially filled air tubes made of flexibleelastic material are connected respectively at the sides and the bottomof the space between the cushion panels for further cushioning thespace. This is done by providing the gusset 60 with fabric side tubes 60a and 60 c and a fabric bottom tube 60 b, which each have an accessopening for receiving a respective tube 42 or 44 in the direction ofarrows in FIG. 23. After the tubes 42, 44 and 42 are insertedsequentially as is diagrammatical illustrated in FIG. 23, the gusset issewn to the front and rear cover panels to complete the sleeve. Thetubes 42 and 44 can alternatively but inserted into the gusset tubes 60a, 60 b and 60 c, after the fabric cover is assembled.

It has been found that even with no way to refill the tubes 40, 42, 44and 46, the plastic material is sufficiently impervious so that thetubes will retain their cushioning effect for a period of years. Thepartial filling is also essential, e.g. each tube is only filled toabout 60 to 90 percent of its full volume with air. This providessufficient cushioning as the air moves around in each cushion to absorban impact, but without excessive bouncing or rebound of the sleeve aftera first impact, which violent bouncing would be counterproductive toprotecting the laptop.

The backpack 10 according to the invention could be used to carry anyload in, on or around the bag, such as a musical instrument, pieces ofequipment, or virtually anything typically carried on the back.

The bladder 28 has the lower region 268 a that is substantially thickerthan its upper region 28 b when fully inflated as shown in FIG. 14 toprovide a good cushion at the kidney or lumbar level of a wearer of thepack 10. In addition the bladder 28 has the somewhat recessed centralarea 28 c and raised, vertically elongated side regions 28 d.

As noted above, to prevent the flexible tubular extensions or tubes 32and 33 from being pinched closed where they pass over the user'sshoulder, the straps 30 are provided internally with U-sectionsemi-rigid liners 36 and 37 having foam edges 38 and stitched in placeso that in these regions where the strap 30 is normally compressed bythe weight of the pack 10 the tubes 32, 33 are held open at semi-rigidchannels formed under liners 36, 37.

With this system it is therefore possible to inflate the bladder 28 fromthe relatively flat and flaccid condition shown in FIG. 13 to therelatively full and even moderately hard condition shown in FIG. 14.This can be done before the pack is put on, or afterward. Once thebackpack 10 is put on by passing the user's arms through the straps 30so that the front mesh panel 22 overlying the bladder 28 rests againstthe user's back, the valve 34 is be actuated, for instance by pressingdown in its center button 39, to relieve some of the pressure. Thiscauses the backpack 10 to settle against the user's back and assume aposition in effected molded to the user. In this position the weight ofthe pack and its contents is applied uniformly to the entire back of theuser, eliminating any concentrated load that could be injurious or, atthe very least, uncomfortable.

FIGS. 7 to 9 show another arrangement where a bladder 28′ is provided ina lower corner with the valve 34′ and does not have the tubularover-the-shoulder extension 32. Here a pocket 24′ is formed by a frontpanel 22′ that is open downward and that can be closed over the embossedbladder 28′ by securing it via a velcro fastener 23 to the bottom of thepack 10. Such an arrangement also has an unillustrated rigid plate 26.

FIGS. 16 through 19 show yet another embossed bladder 28″ with a lateralshort extension 32″ provided with a valve 34″. With this arrangement theunillustrated front panel 22 is formed with an aperture through whichthe extension 32″ can extend for operation of the valve 34″.

Use of the backpacks with the embossed bladders 28′ and 28″ is the sameas that with the bladder 28, that is the bladder is blown up hard tostart with and then deflated partially for comfortable use.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed in detail to illustrate the application of the principles ofthe invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodiedotherwise without departing from such principles.

1. A backpack comprising: a first front wall (20); a second front wall(22) spaced forwardly of the first front wall and defining a frontpocket (24) with the first front wall; a generally rigid plate (26)having a front face and a back face, the plate being in the front pocket(24) with the back face of the plate being adjacent the first front wall(20); a pair of shoulder straps (30) operatively connected to at leastone of the front walls for holding the plate against a back of a userwith the second front wall (22) being between the plate and the back ofthe user; load bearing means connected to at least one of the frontwalls for holding an object; a pressurizable, flexible and elasticbladder (28) covering generally all of the front face of the plate, thebladder being in the front pocket between the front face of the plateand the second front wall, at least the entire inside surfaces of thebladder having a non-smooth texture (29) thereon for preventing stickingtogether of facing walls of the bladder to facilitating an initialinflation of the bladder; a pair of tubular extensions (32, 33)extending from the bladder (28) and respectively into each of theshoulder straps (30), one of the tubular extensions being for inflatingand deflating the bladder; a mouth-inflatable, normally closed checkvalve (34) connected to the one tubular extension at a location that isspaced from the bladder and positioned so as to be accessible to a userfor inflating the bladder by blowing into the check valve while theshoulder strap is on a shoulder of the user, the check valve having amouth engageable perimeter; a valve cover (35) detachably connected overthe entire mouth engageable perimeter of the check valve for coveringthe check valve (34) and keeping it clear; and a pair of semi-rigidliners (36, 37) respectively in the shoulder straps (30) near thebladder to form a pair or semi-rigid channels for the tubular extensions(32, 33) near the bladder to facilitate inflating and deflating of thebladder through the one tubular extension (32).
 2. The backpack definedin claim 1 wherein the non-smooth texture (29) is an embossed pattern(29) on at least the entire inside surfaces of the bladder.
 3. Thebackpack defined in claim 1 wherein the non-smooth texture (29) is anembossed pattern (29) of concentric circles at least the entire insidesurfaces of the bladder.
 4. The backpack defined in claim 1 wherein theload bearing means is a bag fixed to at least one of the first andsecond front walls behind the back face and having an openable closure.5. The backpack defined in claim 1 wherein the plate is an imperforatesemirigid plastic plate.
 6. The backpack defined in claim 1 wherein atleast one front wall of the front pocket is made of mesh.
 7. Thebackpack defined in claim 1 wherein the check valve (34) has a flapperthat is normally closed to prevent air from escaping from the bladderand includes a push button (39) on the flapper that is manuallydepressed to move the flapper and allow air to escape from the bladder.8. The backpack defined in claim 1 wherein the second front wall (22) isa stretchable textile front panel forming the front pocket holding thebladder.
 9. The backpack defined in claim 8 wherein the load bearingmeans includes a textile rear panel forming a rear pocket with the firstfront panel.
 10. The backpack defined in claim 9, further comprising afirst slide fastener closing an end of the rear pocket and a secondslide fastener closing an end of the front pocket.
 11. The backpackdefined in claim 10 wherein the second front panel is a mesh.
 12. Thebackpack defined in claim 11 herein the bladder is subdivided into aplurality of interconnected compartments.
 13. The backpack defined inclaim 1 wherein the bladder is subdivided into a plurality ofinterconnected compartments and the compartments include a relativelylarge lower compartment and a plurality of relatively small uppercompartments.
 14. The backpack defined in claim 8 wherein the frontpocket is downwardly open and the backpack further comprises areleasable fastener at a lower edge of the front panel.
 15. The backpackdefined in claim 1 wherein the bladder is formed with a forwardly opencentral recess for avoiding pressure on the spine of a user.
 16. Thebackpack defined in claim 1 wherein the load bearing means includes atextile rear panel forming a rear pocket with the first front panel, andincluding a pair of cushion panels connect in the rear pocket and behindthe first front wall (20), each cushion panel comprising a plurality ofspaced apart, parallel, permanently sealed and partially filled airtubes made of flexible elastic material with webs between the air tubesin each cushion panel, the air tubes of one cushion panel each facingthe webs of the other cushion panel for minimizing a volume occupied bythe cushion panels when there is nothing in a space between the cushionpanels, and for cushioning a laptop computer placed between the cushionpanels.
 17. The backpack defined in claim 15 including a top permanentlysealed and partially filled air tube made of flexible elastic materialwith top web connected between one of the cushion panels and the top airtube for covering and cushioning the space between the cushion panels,and a pair of side and a bottom permanently sealed and partially filledair tubes made of flexible elastic material connected respectively atthe sides and the bottom of the space between the cushion panels forfurther cushioning the space.
 18. The laptop computer sleeve comprising:a pair of cushion panels comprising a plurality of spaced apart,parallel permanently sealed and partially filled air tubes made offlexible elastic material with webs between the air tubes in eachcushion panel, the air tubes of one cushion panel each facing the websof the other cushion panel for minimizing a volume occupied by thecushion panels when there is nothing in a space between the cushionpanels, and for cushioning a laptop computer placed between the cushionpanels.
 19. The laptop sleeve defined in claim 18 including a toppermanently sealed and partially filled air tube made of flexibleelastic material with top web connected between one of the cushionpanels and the top air tube for covering and cushioning the spacebetween the cushion panels, and a pair of side and a bottom permanentlysealed and partially filled air tubes made of flexible elastic materialconnected respectively at the sides and the bottom of the space betweenthe cushion panels for further cushioning the space.
 20. A backpackcomprising: a first front wall; a second front wall spaced forwardly ofthe first front wall and defining a front pocket with the first frontwall; a generally rigid plate having a front face and a back face, theplate being in the front pocket with the back face of the plate beingadjacent the first front wall, the plate being an imperforate semirigidplastic plate; a pair of shoulder straps operatively connected to atleast one of the front walls for holding the plate against a back of auser with the second front wall being between the plate and the back ofthe user; load bearing means connected to at least one of the frontwalls for holding an object; a pressurizable, flexible and elasticbladder covering generally all of the front face of the plate, thebladder being in the front pocket between the front face of the plateand the second front wall, at least the entire inside surfaces of thebladder having a non-smooth texture thereon for preventing stickingtogether of facing walls of the bladder to facilitating an initialinflation of the bladder, the non-smooth texture being created by anembossed pattern on at least the entire inside surfaces of the bladder;a pair of tubular extensions extending from the bladder and respectivelyinto each of the shoulder straps, one of the tubular extensions beingfor inflating and deflating the bladder; a mouth-inflatable, normallyclosed check valve connected to the one tubular extension at a locationthat is spaced from the bladder and positioned so as to be accessible toa user for inflating the bladder by blowing into the check valve whilethe shoulder strap is on a shoulder of the user, the check valve havinga mouth engageable perimeter; a valve cover detachably connected overthe entire mouth engageable perimeter of the check valve for coveringthe check valve and keeping it clear; and a pair of semi-rigid linersrespectively in the shoulder straps near the bladder to form a pair orsemi-rigid channels for the tubular extensions near the bladder tofacilitate inflating and deflating of the bladder through the onetubular extension; the load bearing means being a bag fixed to at leastone of the first and second front walls behind the back face and havingan openable closure; the check valve having a flapper that is normallyclosed to prevent air from escaping from the bladder and includes a pushbutton on the flapper that is manually depressed to move the flapper andallow air to escape from the bladder; the bladder being subdivided intoa plurality of interconnected compartments and the compartments includea relatively large lower compartment and a plurality of relatively smallupper compartments; the load bearing means including a textile rearpanel forming a rear pocket with the first front panel; and a pair ofcushion panels connect in the rear pocket and behind the first frontwall (20), each cushion panel comprising a plurality of spaced apart,parallel, permanently sealed and partially filled air tubes made offlexible elastic material with webs between the air tubes in eachcushion panel, the air tubes of one cushion panel each facing the websof the other cushion panel for minimizing a volume occupied by thecushion panels when there is nothing in a space between the cushionpanels, and for cushioning a laptop computer placed between the cushionpanels.
 21. The backpack defined in claim 20 including a top permanentlysealed and partially filled air tube made of flexible elastic materialwith top web connected between one of the cushion panels and the top airtube for covering and cushioning the space between the cushion panels,and a pair of side and a bottom permanently sealed and partially filledair tubes made of flexible elastic material connected respectively atthe sides and the bottom of the space between the cushion panels forfurther cushioning the space.